>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." >>> barack obama has some unfinished business.theu.s. presidentsays the hard work of millions of americans has not been rewarded and he says it's time to reunite the engine of economic growth. he promised to work on behalf of the middle class in his state of the union address. >> it is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country, the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like or who you love. >> obama made the address before a joint session of congress. he said his first priority is making the country a magnet for new jobs in manufacturing. he said some of those jobs could come through investment and clean energy. he said the extreme weather americans have seen should remind them they need to do more to combat climate change. obama said america will remain the anchor of strong alliances around the world, as he outlined threats from abroad. he criticized north korean leaders a day after they carried out another nuc

is flying to washington for his first talkswithu.s. presidentbarack obama since he took office in december. their agenda is packed and their discussions are expected to touch on everything from a wide-ranging free trade deal to punishing north korea. >> translator: i want the summit talks to show the international community that japan and the united states have restored the strong bond of their alliance. >> abe says that alliance became unstable during the former democratic party-led administration. he says he's going to talk to obama about the u.s.-led negotiations for the transpacific partnership. nations that joined the discussions for the free trade agreement are supposed to in principle eliminate all tariffs, but abe doesn't want to abide by the precondition. abe and obama are expected to share ideas on what to do about north korea. scientists in the country last week carried out their third nuclear test. the leaders are expected to agree to push for a u.n. security council resolution imposing new sanctions on pyongyang. >>> government officials say the prime minister will

ship that orbits the earth. it also depicts a unified korean peninsulaandu.s. citiesengulfed in flames. they believe the launch served as a test for a long-ranged ballistic missile. north korean authorities say they plan to develop and launch much larger rockets up to galaxy nine. >>> chinese maritime surveillance crews started off the week doing something they've done many times before, they navigated into japanese waters near the disputed islands in the east china sea. japan controls the senkaku islands but china and taiwan claim them. japan coast guard personnel say the two surveillance ships entered japanese waters on monday. it's the fifth time this year. the ships kept sailing in the waters despite warnings from coast guard officers. japanese foreign ministry officials launched a protest through china's embassy in tokyo. maritime authorities have increased their presence in the area since japanese leaders nationalized the islands last september. officials in beijing said last month they will conduct regular patrols around the islands. >>> prime minister shinzo abe will

that threatens the lives and safety of south koreans. japanese prime minister shinzo abeandu.s. presidentbarack obama are trying to figure out how to punish north korea. they spoke on the phone and agreed to push for additional sanctions through the united nations security council. abe told obama that the nuclear tests severely damages peace and security not only in northeast asia but around the globe. he said he wants officials in both administrations to work together to bring in financial sanctions. abe cited a previous u.s. sanction as a good example. in 2005 officials at the treasury department imposed penalties on u.s. financial institutions that dealt with north korea. obama said u.s. officials too want to cooperate. he said world leaders need to agree on a firm response. north korean scientists conducted a nuclear test on tuesday in violation of previous u.n. resolutions. abe is set to visit washington later this month to meet with obama in person. >>> obama's new secretary of state gave world leaders a push of his own. john kerry said they need to show they are serious about cont

in the coming months as foreign troops drawdawnu.s. presidentbarack obama announced this week that another 34,000 american service personnel would return home over the next year and surprisingly, for the ultra conservative society, female afghan soldiers will play a key role, filling the vacuum. the afghan army has been training female special forces since 2011. out of the army's 195,000 recruits, more than 1,000 are women. the first females to join a special forces unit says she and her colleagues are up to the task. >> translator: i think women share the same work ethic as men, but women have to use our abilities and work shoulder to shoulder with our brothers. i don't think it's a difficult job. women shouldn't be scared to join the army. >> army night raids are essential to capture insurgents hiding in private homes often alongside women and children. female soldiers are critical to the success of these operations. >> translator: after we finish our clearing duties during night operations, female soldiers can go in and search the women and children, so the young ones don't get too scared.

.>>>u.s. secretaryof state john kerry says the latest talks were useful. kerry said he hoped iranian leaders will respond positively. >> we look to iran to carefully review an incredible and confidence building steps and put it on the table. >> kerry said u.s. president barack obama made clear his determination to implement his policy that iran will not have a nuclear weapon. >>> pope benedict xvi says he will have unconditional reverence and obedience for his successor. he is just hours away from officially retiring as the head of the catholic church after spending nearly eight years in the post. the pope greeted cardinals on his final day. he told them their advice had been important and he said he was happy to have spent time with them. vatican officials say the cardinals will meet in early march to set the date for a conclave to elect a new pope. benedict xvi is resigning because of old age and poor health. no pope has done that since 1415. he is scheduled to fly by helicopter to the papal retreat in a suburb of rome. his resignation goes into effect at 8:00 p.m. local time. >>>

that people can wear like a watch.theu.s. patentand trademark office disclosed the patent filing on thursday. the computer has a flexible touch panel display, censors inside detect a change in the state of substrates and automatically adjust the user interface to a new position. the computer wirelessly connects with other portable devices like smartphones. there are rumors that apple is developing a wearable computer. google has also been developing a computer that looks like a pair of eyeglasses. competition in the emerging field of wearable computers is expected to further intensify. >>> new home prices rose in major cities in china last month despite the efforts to reign in speculative activity. officials will expand a pilot property tax program and other measures to curb the price hike. new housing prices rose in january in 53 cities. prices soared 2% or more in the industrial hubs of schennzhen. they went up 1.6% in beijing and 1.1% in wuhan. officials say they will expand taxation on real estate from shanghai to other cities. they say the measure is it to prevent public cri

theu.s. hasbeen proposed. the objective to would be to help stabilize forces after the end of the operation. sources say neighboring countries are expected to play a major role in the operation. >> south korea leaders say they are ready to conduct an underground nuclear test at any time. crews have installed a remote detonator and equipment that will be used to measure radiation. north korean leaders said last month it will conduct their third nuclear test, but didn't say when. government sources say the crews brought a vehicle to the test site in the northeast that will remotely control the detonator. a monitoring device installed will be used to detect any nuclear radioactive material coming out of tunnels after a nuclear explosion. they are working with u.s. forces to monitor the movements of the north korean military. >> a trailer truck loaded with fireworks has exploded on an expressway on the inland chinese province of hernan. there are conflicting reports about the number of dead but the figure could reach into the dozens. the truck was delivering fireworks for chine

what they called a sworn enemy of the korean people, the unitedstates.u.s. representativesled the drive at the u.n. to expand sanctions. security council passed a resolution last month condemning the north koreans for launching a rocket in december. >> translator: the nuclear test was carried out as part of our efforts to protect our security and independence. it is aimed at responding to the ferocious and hostile act of the u.s. to block our right to legitimately and peacefully launch satellites. >> south korean defense officials estimate the explosion measured 6 to 7 kilotons, but they note it was below 10 kilotons when suggest scientists did not achieve full-scale nuclear detonation. experts in seoul say they are preparing for another missile launch. state media trumpeted the announcement with music. people in pyongyang watched and cheered. citizens watched a large screen in public square of the north korean capital. they cheered when the state broadcasts the test a success. >> translator: i am so happy to hear that the nuclear test was successful. our country has shown its

. they represent 15 countries, including japan,theu.s., southkorea, china, and australia. the director of the college's research department says he hopes they can discuss each nation's participants and a way to building a regional security framework. he also commented on china's presence at the event. >> translator: china's participation has great significance, considering the timing of the meeting. >> relations have soured over a territorial dispute. china denies the clang. >>> experts with japan's nuclear regulator have thrown another wrench into plans to put power plants back online. officials have been looking at six complexes to see if they're stable. they found the one near the village of higashidori may be sitting on active faults. we have the report. >> reporter: the regulators dug into the ground. they found volcanic ash. they concluded that something under foot was not stable. they say two faults could be active. the plant's operators have a different view. they say cracks around the foot were caused by ground water. the experts say there's little evidence to support that vie

. state department spokesperson victoria nuland said such attacks arethreateningu.s. securityand american business interests. >> we are concerned about the involvement of the military. >> china's defense ministry has addressed the u.s. allegations as groundless and a defense ministry spokesperson is quoted as say the military has never been involved in military espionage. the country's ip addresses are often stolen and misused and he said that many attacks come from the united states, but china has never blamed the u.s. >>> people who work for u.s. computer giant apple say hackers have hit them too. the attack resembles one last month on employees of social networking company facebook. spokespersons for apple said some employees visited a website for software developers. software designed to attack the company's network infected their computers. the spokespersons say no user data got out. technicians have started distributing software to detect and delete the malicious software. apple managers say they're cooperating with the fbi to identify those responsible. >>> a japanese

biggest on record.>>>u.s. presidentbarack obama has renewed his call on congress to avoid automatic spending cuts to scheduled on march 1st. >> these cuts do not have to happen. congress can turn them off any time with just a little bit of compromise. >> obama urged lawmakers to agree on a provisional measure that combines tax increases mainly on the wealthy and some reductions in government expenditures. but the negotiations between republicans and democrats have made little progress. republicans have rejected the president's call. >> listen, the president says we have to have another tax increase in order to avoid the sequester. well, mr. president, you got your tax increase. it's time to cut spending here in washington. >> the white house warns the automatic spending cuts could curtail activities of u.s. troops deployed worldwide, cause >>> congress reached a compromise two months ago to avert the fiscal cliff crisis. a japan based free phone and messaging service is teaming up with finland's mobile phone maker nokia. they're trying to expand into emerging markets. nokia's no low

at home after several days in washington. he returned after delivering an important messagetou.s. presidentobama. nhk world explains. >> reporter: shinzo abe has vowed to get the economy growing again during his second shot at power. the prime minister told americans that he was back and so was japan. he and president barack obama issued a statement that signaled abe might be leaning towards joining the asians on the transpacific partnership. they said japanese officials would not have to abolish tariffs on rice or other agricultural products before beginning the talks. abe told obama he may increase defense spending. he said he's even considering allowing japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense, the right to defend an ally under attack. the official position of the japanese government is that collective self-defense is against the constitution. abe explained japan's position on the senkaku islands. japan purchased the islands in september. chinese ships have entered japanese waters around them repeatedly over the last several months. >> translator: president obam

figure. china was the biggest clean energy investor at $70 billion followed bytheu.s. with40 billion. japanese investors are also cleaning up their act. they boosted spending to $16 billion after serious power shortages following the fukushima nuclear crisis. professionals say it's an industry with limitless potential. >> renewable energy in japan is a huge opportunity for us. so we need to try to dominate 10 times or 20 times from now within five years. that is my expectation. >> reporter: visitors here are energized by these innovations. they're beginning to think a renewable planet might not be so far away. rina nakano, nhk world, tokyo. >>> officials at japan's nuclear regulatory body have released new evacuation guidelines for any future power plant disaster. the announcement is about one month behind schedule. the nuclear regulation authority says residents within five kilometers of a disaster-stricken nuclear plant must evacuate before the release of radioactive substances. iodine tablets will be distributed to households within five kilometers of a nuclear plant. iodine helps

, nagano, japan. >>> for those who plan to travel totheu.s. thisweekend, they may be in for rough weather. meteorologist robert speta has the forecast. robert? >>>. >> yeah, gene, across much of the u.s., specifically new england and to the northeast here. it's going to be a very rough go. there are several ingredients on the table. it is going to be horrible travel conditions. this is horrible weather here. we have first down here towards the south, this storm system continuing to push off here towards the east. that is going to be pulling in all this warm air, all of this moisture in from the gulf of mexico. meanwhile look off towards the north. this high pressure over portions of new england into quebec, that is just an arctic air mass that has been sitting here, even feeling for this system bringing snowfall into portions of michigan and across the great lakes. while going into friday, this system down here towards the south is going to be working its way off here towards the north. then friday evening that is going to start to interact with the systems in and across portions

people confirmed dead and four injured. four others are missing. analysts withtheu.s. geologicalsurvey say the magnitude 8.0 earthquake hit around lunchtime on wednesday. the quake sparked warnings across the south pacific. observers from the pacific island center reported a wave about 90 centimeters high reached the coast of nando island. ngo workers on nando say it washed away at least 100 houses. they add the supply of electricity and water has been disrupted and some parts of the island have been flooded, including the airport. >>> two major japanese automakers have revised upward their profit estimates for the fiscal year through march. the decline is a prime factor for improving their earnings outlook. mazda motors says it expects to post $480 million in operating profit. that's up 80% in yen terms from its previous estimates. the weaker yen improved export margins. mazda's president is hoping for further depreciation of the yen. he says 100 yen to the dollar would be a desirable level for exporting firms to achieve a stable performance. meanwhile, fudgi heavy industries, making

any of the coverage, just log on to our website, www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld. >>> people innorthernu.s. arebracing for the worst winter storm to hit the area this season. robert speta is here with the forecast. robert? >> that's right. this is going to be one of the storms for the record books. continuing to push off the coastline here. already into new york. you're starting to see the snow fall. it does look like going into massachusetts, all the airports in and around this area have been closed. over 3,000 flights canceled on friday and even into saturday as well here just due to the two storm systems. you can start to see them on e analysis on saturday. one storm coming in from the west and across the great lakes, this is dropping some heavy snowfall. but at the same time, we have this moisture inflow from a separate low pressure area that started to move in from the south. it is just heavy snowfall. 60 sent meters of snow in and around the boston area. that will be absolutely crippling. actually, into new york city, the mayor has asked people to stay indoors. just call in if you

of the catholic church will now start planning their conclave. the meeting they hold to choose a successor.>>>u.s. andsouth korean marines have given reporters a glimpse of their first joint winter drills. the marines started training together last week in the south korean mountain town of pyeongchang. they're improving their combat skills. about 400 marines practiced in a temperature of minus 10 degrees celsius. they shot at targets while skiing down a mountain and rappelled down a cliff with guns in their hands. the marines regularly train together. they say they want to be ready to deal with any attack from north korea. they've never drilled together in winter before. south korean leaders believe training in the harsh environment will help them work more closely together. the exercises are scheduled to last until friday of next week. >>> a new commander has taken charge of international forces in afghanistan. he says he's determined to improve the abilities of afghan soldiers before foreign troops pull out. u.s. marine general joseph dunford took charge of the nato-led force in kabul. >> toda